Election Special – Stream On Demand

Paul Giamatti is John Adams in the HBO miniseries

‘John Adams’ and the birth of American democracy on HBO Max

!Featured, Based on a nonfiction book, Blu-ray, drama, DVD, Election Special, HBO Max, historical, Limited Series, miniseries, Streaming TV, SVOD 07/04/2022 Sean Axmaker

Paul Giamatti is American Revolution hero and second American President John Adams in this fascinating miniseries adapted from the accalimed biography by David McCullough.

David Oyelowo is Martin Luther King in Ava DuVernay's 'Selma.'

Academy Award winner ‘Selma’ on Paramount+

!Featured, Academy Award, African-American cinema, African-American filmmakers, American Independent Cinema, based on a true story, Black History, Blu-ray, Directed by Women, DVD, Election Special, Essential Viewing, historical, Peacock, socially aware cinema, Streaming Movies, SVOD 06/07/2022 Sean Axmaker 1 Comment

Ava Duvernay directs this acclaimed drama about the 1965 civil rights march through Alabama led by Dr. Martin Luther King.

‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ – Tom Hanks vs. the USSR on Hulu

!Featured, Academy Award nominee, based on a true story, Blu-ray, Comedy, DVD, Election Special, Have You Seen...?, Hulu, Politics, Streaming Movies, SVOD 03/07/2022 Sean Axmaker

Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman costar in this breezy take on “the outrageous true story” of a minor congressman who secretly funded a rebellion against the Soviet Union.

‘Our Brand Is Crisis’ – politics as PR on Netflix

!Featured, based on a true story, Blu-ray, drama, DVD, Election Special, Netflix, Politics, satire, socially aware cinema, Streaming Movies, SVOD 10/11/2021 Sean Axmaker 1 Comment

Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton star as American political consultants running rival political campaigns in Bolivia in this satire inspired by real events.

William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal debate the 1968 elections on ABC in 'Best of Enemies'

‘Best of Enemies’ – Buckley vs. Vidal on Amazon Prime

!Featured, Amazon Prime Video, Blu-ray, Documentary, DVD, Election Special, Free, Hoopla, Kanopy, Politics, SVOD 08/09/2021 Sean Axmaker 1 Comment

Best of Enemies (2015) carries the subtitle “Buckley vs. Vidal” and it is indeed a portrait of a rivalry, one that was presented on prime time network television at a time when there were three networks and TV news strived to be fair and balanced to a fault. In 1968, William F. Buckley was the […]

‘Winter Kills’ – The great American conspiracy movie on Amazon Prime

!Featured, Amazon Prime Video, based on a novel, Blu-ray, Cult Movies, DVD, Election Special, Politics, satire, spies and espionage, SVOD, thriller 11/09/2020 Sean Axmaker

Though technically a work of fiction, Winter Kills (1979, R) is the maddest and most entertaining of Kennedy conspiracy thrillers, a wild kaleidoscope of clashing theories directed with wit and performed with gusto by an astounding cast. Jeff Bridges is the half-brother of an assassinated President who digs up the “truth” 20 years later and […]

Reese Witherspoon in Alexander Payne's satire 'Election' with Matthew Broderick

‘Election’ – Vote Tracy Flick on Hulu and Paramount+

!Featured, Academy Award nominee, Blu-ray, Comedy, Criterion Channel, DVD, Election Special, Film Independent Spirit Awards, Have You Seen...?, HBO Max, high school, Hulu, Politics, satire, Streaming Movies, SVOD 11/01/2020 Sean Axmaker

Alexander Payne’s wicked satire of power and (social) politics set in the overheated incubator of a high school student body election is as sharp and perceptive now as it was in 1999.

Citizenfour, a documentary by Laura Poitras with Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald

‘Citizenfour’ – Edward Snowden on Amazon Prime

!Featured, Academy Award, Amazon Prime Video, Blu-ray, Documentary, DVD, Election Special, Have You Seen...?, SVOD 09/16/2019 Sean Axmaker 1 Comment

Citizenfour (2014), winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, is the story of Edward Snowden and his release of classified NSA documents that revealed the systematic surveillance of phone calls, E-mails, and internet activities of American citizens by the government. It was the biggest act of government whistleblowing since Daniel Ellsberg and […]

Stuart Townsend's drama about 1999 WTO protests in Seattle

‘Battle in Seattle’ – Power to the people on Amazon Prime

!Featured, Amazon Prime Video, Election Special, Streaming Movies 11/17/2016 Sean Axmaker

Battle in Seattle (2008), the directorial debut of actor Stuart Townsend, is a conventional drama about the unconventional protest landmark: the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, Washington, a real event explored through the familiar fictional stories of various protesters, delegates and bystanders. Like far too many films and TV programs set in Seattle it was […]

Peter Capaldi is Malcolm Tucker in 'In the Loop'

‘In the Loop’ on Netflix

!Featured, Comedy, Election Special, Netflix, Streaming Movies 10/20/2016 Sean Axmaker

In the Loop (2009), a fiercely funny and profane satire of British party politics and international diplomacy, makes the case that politics is no place for idealists or amateurs. The triumph of director Armando Iannucci (Veep), his writers, and especially his star, Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), is that for all the raucous chaos and foul […]